Does Trump Want War or Peace in Syria?

Smoke and dust rise after a US-led air strike in the Syrian town of Kobani (image: Reuters)

Syria is Obama’s war. It’s now Trump’s. His actions belie his rhetoric so far.

Campaigning last October, he said “I don’t like Assad at all, but Assad is killing ISIS. Russia is killing ISIS and Iran is killing ISIS.” A good thing.

Last month, he said he’ll establish “safe zones” and have Gulf states pay for them. Syria justifiably rejects the idea. So does Russia without Assad’s authorization.

Last month, he said a role for America to defeat terrorism in Syria is only possible with his government’s approval, as part of rapprochement with Russia, adding:

“We are here. We are the Syrians. We own this country as Syrians, nobody else. So you cannot defeat the terrorism without cooperation with the people and the government of any country.”

He insisted Washington lift illegally imposed sanctions as a first step toward a working relationship.

Instead, the Trump administration, along with Britain and France, introduced a draft Security Council resolution for new ones – responsibly vetoed by Russia and China.

Washington so far failed to participate in two rounds of Astana, Kazakhstan peace talks, as well as Geneva IV negotiations. It’s unknown if it’ll get involved when they’re resumed later this month.

America’s absence shows it wants war, not peace. So do continued terror-bombings of Syrian infrastructure, massacring civilians, and aiding “moderate” terrorists wanting Assad’s government toppled.

Maybe support for ISIS and al-Nusra continue covertly, airdropping them heavy weapons and other material support like earlier.

America can’t be trusted, consistently saying one thing, doing another. In late December, Iranian Defense Minister Hossein Dehghan minced no words, saying:

“We have never coordinated our actions with the Americans. We will never cooperate with them” on Syria or Iraq. Along with its so-called “coalition” partners, it “has no real intentions” to fight ISIS and other terrorist groups, aiding them instead.

On Friday, Sergey Lavrov accused America, Britain and France of “poison(ing) the atmosphere of” Syria peace talks.

“Without any prior negotiating procedure, (they) hurriedly submitted” a draft Security Council resolution, wanting new illegal sanctions imposed on Syria based on fabricated claims of chemical weapons use, despite no evidence suggesting it – acting “with full understanding that (it) would be vetoed.”

The co-authors want the Security Council “split” on this issue, Lavrov stressed. Irresponsibly acting during Geneva peace talks indicates wanting them undermined.

Trump administration hawks make policy decisions on defense, national and homeland security. They’re warriors, not peacemakers, endless wars likely to continue. Maybe they have a new major one in mind.